Crows are among the smartest of all birds and their cousins in the corvid family (jays, magpies and ravens) rival human beings in intelligence. It’s no wonder that they’re a delight to behold when they nest and roost in our urban and suburban neighborhoods.

Crow’s are a social species and they live in large flocks called roosts that may have as many as 50 birds in a single location. These roosts are used for daytime rest, sleep and to protect against predators.

Every day in the late afternoon, crows leave their feeding territories and travel along fixed routes to their roost sites. They will fly up to 50 miles each day in search of a place to settle down for the night. In the PNW, this typically means tall evergreen trees.

In the Spring, crows begin building their nests. They can be found in an astounding array of locations; from the crooks of well concealed tree limbs 15 to 60 feet off the ground to window ledges and even utility poles! Both members of the breeding pair participate in the nest building process.

Once the nest is built, the female will sit on the eggs for 18 days. The father and other family members (usually offspring from the previous year) will bring her food during this time. Once the chicks hatch, the older siblings will help feed them and chase away predators.

When a new chick is ready to leave the nest, it is very difficult for them to do so until their flight feathers are fully developed. The fledglings often spend several days on the ground while they build their strength and learn how to fly. It’s important for people to understand that this is completely normal and should not be viewed as an indication that a crow has been abandoned.
 https://nestvui.com/yen-tinh-che/ that I get asked is why a crow’s feathers are falling out; this is often caused by the crow being attacked by other crows or other predators. As social animals, crows have evolved to be wary of others that are not their family. They will aggressively chase away any non-family members, including injured or sick crows who may have an advantage in a competition for territory and food resources.

Crows are very wary of potential predators that are scoping out the nests they’re building. As a result, they conceal their nests in such an intricate way that it’s rare for us to be able to see them. To protect against a hungry hawk, owl or raccoon, crows will sometimes build decoy nests that a predator will see and think are real. I’ve seen this happen on numerous occasions. This trickery is an excellent deterrent to a predator that might otherwise scoop a crow’s entire nest out of a tree!